沃爾特·惠特曼/ Walter Whitman
沃爾特·惠特曼（1819—1892），美國19世紀最傑出的詩人，美國浪漫主義文學的大師。
惠特曼一生各個時期的詩作都收錄在《草葉集》中。他以豪邁、鏗鏘有力的詩句謳歌了美國自由資本主義時期蓬勃發展的社會，歌唱民主與自由，歌頌“自我”，歌頌大自然，歌頌勞動，並以火一樣的語言抨擊資本主義的罪惡與弊端，支持廢奴運動。
《草葉集》被認為是美國文學史上具有劃時代意義的詩作，這不僅在於其內容的人民性和民主與自由思想，而且也在於其形式上的革命，他開創了自由體詩歌的新時代。惠特曼是一個時代的結束，也是美國文學一個新的時代的開始。
Ace in the Hole
Understand these new words before you listen to this article.
1. picturesque [,pikt??'resk] adj. 獨特的；生動的
2. imperturbability ['imp?,t?:b?'bil?ti] n. 冷靜；沉著
3. rebuke [ri'bju:k] v. 指責；製止
4. reminiscence [,remi'nis?ns] n. 回憶；懷舊
5. pervade [p?:'veid, p?-] v. 彌漫；遍及
I should not take either the biggest or the most picturesque tree to illustrate it. Here is one of my favorites now before me, a fine yellow poplar, quite straight, perhaps 90 feet high, and four feet thick at the butt. How strong, vital enduring! How dumbly eloquent! What suggestions of imperturbability and being, as against the human trait of mere seeming. Then the qualities, almost emotional, palpably artistic, heroic, of a tree; so innocent and harmless, yet so savage. It is, yet says nothing. How it rebukes by its tough and equable serenity as weathers, this gusty-temper’s little whiffet, man that runs indoors at a mite of rain or snow. Science (or rather half-way science) scoffs at reminiscence of dryad and hamadryad, and of trees speaking. But, if they don’t, they do as well as most speaking, writing, poetry, sermons or rather they do a great deal better.I should say indeed that those old dryad—reminiscences are quit as true as any, and profounder than most reminiscences we get. (“Cut this out,”as the quack mediciners say, and keep by you.) Go and sit in a grove or woods, with one or more of those voiceless companions, and read the fore going, and think.
One lesson from affiliating a tree—perhaps the greatest moral lesson anyhow from earth, rock, animals, is that same lesson of inherency, of what is, without the least regard to what the looker or (the critic) supposes or says, or whether he likes or dislikes. What worse—what more general malady pervades each and all of us, our literature, education, attitude toward each other, (even toward ourselves,) than a morbid trouble about seems, and no trouble at all, or hardly any, about the sane, slow-growing perennial, real parts of character, books, friendship, marriage—humanity’s invisible foundations and hold together.
參考譯文
我不會選那棵最大或最獨特的樹來描繪。在我麵前，有我最喜歡的一棵樹，那是一棵美麗的黃楊樹，它很直，可能有九十英尺高，最粗的地方直徑達四英尺。它是如此強壯！如此富有生命力！如此挺立在風雨中！又是如此無言而善喻！它所啟示的泰然自若和生存的本質，與人生浮華的表象形成了如此鮮明的對比。可以說，一棵樹也是有情感的，富有生動的藝術性質，也是英勇無畏的。它是如此天真，不會傷害任何東西，它又是那麽原始粗野；它無言地存在著，用自己的堅強、平和，寧靜有力地斥責了風雨雷電以及人類——這個一碰到風吹草動就躲進房子裏的沒用的小東西。科學（或者更準確地說，是不徹底的科學）對有關樹精、樹仙和會說話的樹等想象嗤之以鼻。然而，即使樹木不會說話，它們也與大多數語言、文字、詩歌與訓誡一樣善喻，甚至比它們有過之而無不及。我敢斷定，那些古老的有關樹精的聯想是非常真實的，甚至比我們大多數聯想都更為深刻。（“把它砍下來”，騙人的遊醫這麽說，然後留在你身邊）請到樹叢中或林地間坐下來，與無言的樹木做伴，然後再把前麵的那些話讀一讀、想一想。
人們從一棵樹那裏得到的啟示——或者說大地、岩石以及動物賦予人們的最大道德教義，就是它們對於生存的內在本質的提示與觀望者（或批評者）的推測和述說完全無關，與他的喜好與憎惡完全無關。一種疾患在我們每個人和我們大家的心間充斥著，滲透於我們的文學、教育以及彼此對待（甚至自我對待）的態度中，這便是對表麵現象的喋喋不休，而對於人物、書籍、友誼、婚姻之合理的、逐漸增強的、經常存在的真實，亦即人類無形的本質和基礎，不予過問或幾乎不加過問。還有什麽疾患比這更糟糕、更普遍嗎？
Learning for Better Understanding
Listen to the article, and then try to answer the following questions.
1. Why did the author decide to illustrate the yellow poplar?
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2. What does“a morbid trouble”refer to in the last paragraph?
Chunks in Practice
Listen to the following passage twice and then fill in the blanks with
appropriate words.
1. How dumbly eloquent! What______of imperturbability and being, as against the human trait of mere seeming. Then the qualities, almost emotional, palpably artistic,______, of a tree; so innocent and______, yet so savage.
2. One lesson from affiliating a tree—perhaps the greatest moral lesson______from earth, rock,______, is that same lesson of inherency, of what is, without the leastto what the looker or (the critic) supposes or says, or______he likes or dislikes.
Show Window
Listen to the article again, and try to express what you have learned from it.
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